Yesterday the St. Louis Cardinals signed former Red Sox right hander Matt Clement to a one year deal with an option for a second year. This move gives the St. Louis Cardinals two starters who were members of the Red Sox within the past six months. The other pitcher is Joel Pineiro. Pineiro was acquired by the Cardinals this past July in exchange for a minor leaguer.
He enjoyed his time in the National League and pitched his best baseball in years finishing the year with a sub 4 ERA as a starter. Over the past few seasons he had struggled while with the Mariners as a starter and then was inconsistent with the Red Sox as a reliever. The Sox eventually sent him to the minor leagues where he was playing at the time of the trade.
Clement, meanwhile, has not pitched in a major league game since the 2006 season following major arm surgery. He should be ready to pitch with out holding back at the start of spring training and is a legitimate option to fill one of the rotation positions come the start of the season. This may change as the season goes on, as St. Louis has two star pitchers of their own, Mark Mulder, and Chris Carpenter, who are due back at some point in 2008.
But as things stand, the way the Cardinals rotation is shaping up, it should be a tribute to the Red Sox rotation. Even with two starters from last years team (yeah I know Clement didn't pitch last year) the Red Sox have 6 strong candidates for the rotation next year, and if they make the trade for Santana could have the best rotation in baseball. Currently, two of the six are over 40, two are going to be 27, and two are under 25. They are poised to be good for a long time, and have shown the ability to adapt.
The point of all this. The Red Sox rotation was great last year, but it looks to improve even more in the future. Matsuzaka has major league experience now, Lester doesn't have to worry about making a come back from cancer, Schilling has motivation from clauses in his contract, Wakefield should be healthy, Buccholz should be out to prove his no-hitter wasn't just luck, and Beckett is Beckett. Come the start of the season, they could be without Lester, but in his place would be Johan Santana, a Cy Young Award winner and the best lefty in the game. The rotation is looking good.
